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“You’re right about the boy being used. And no, I don’t want harm to come to him. But I’m not going to play Diaz’s, or the cops’, little games to trap me. I’ve worked too damn hard to make sure my father’s lifestyle doesn’t affect Luca or Caprice, and even Mia. I won’t let anyone damage my family any more than my father already has. I won’t allow the fucking past to hurt them. And Diaz, your boss, or fuck, maybe both of them together are trying to do just that. One wants me to grant him a gateway to get his dope into this country. The other wants to pin something, anything, on me because he can’t touch my father.”
I’m not so tunnel-visioned that I don’t understand where D is coming from. But to accuse my boss and my fellow law enforcement officers of plotting to set him up unlawfully, or even worse, working with a criminal to bring him down is too much of a stretch for me. I work with those people and have for years. Tom, although hard, has always done things by the book, that I know of.
The cops aren’t the ones who kidnapped Gabriel. And it wasn’t the cops that shot and tried to kill me. It was a man who will obviously do anything to get what he wants. And right now, he wants Drago.
“Did it ever cross your mind that your ‘source’ is wrong?”
Maybe D’s source is in bed with Diaz. I wonder if he ever thought of that.
“No!” he shouts, losing patience with me.
“Then why did Sebastian take him? Why did he take Gabriel, something he thinks you value most, to hold over your head?” I see the wheels turning in his head. He’s thinking. He’s considering the possibilities. “Why, Drago?”
Gabriel is his son. The first test wasn’t wrong. And neither was the second one I had done independently that nobody but me knows about. Even if I just defended my fellow LEO’s in my head, there’s another side that falters to believe Tom is on the up-and-up this time. If I just knew why he was so adamant about finding criminal evidence on Drago then maybe I wouldn’t be questioning my fellow badges.
But now isn’t the time to tell D about the other test. He hasn’t fully accepted the possibility that Gabriel is his son, and until he does, he won’t listen to me. He won’t believe me—and that hurts the most.
“Leave it!” he roars, confirming my thoughts.
“Am I interrupting?”
We both freeze. Drago’s eyes going wide.
Oh, fuck.Did Caprice hear us?
Her voice is sweet, a stark contrast to D’s.
“No.” Drago’s voice is strained. “We’re done here.” His head rolls to the side, looking down at me to make sure his words are clear.
If he’s not going to help me, then I’ll have to figure something else out, because I am going to do whatever it takes to find Gabriel before it’s too late. If Drago doesn’t play his game or give Diaz what he wants, Gabriel will be of no use to him. With a man like Sebastian Diaz, there are logically two things he’ll do: kill a baby or sell him. And neither are acceptable outcomes.
I train my eyes up, imploring them to show Drago just how disgusted I am with him at this moment. If something happens to Gabe and his father does nothing to prevent it or stop it, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive him.
I turn, leaving hastily, brushing past his sister on the way out.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“Bri, wait up,” Caprice calls after me.
I stop just before I reach the end of the hallway, turning to face her. My eyes automatically cut past her, eyeing the door I just stalked out of. He obviously has no plans of coming after me, fueling a fire that’s kindling inside me.
“You and I really haven’t had a chance to talk,” she says quickly, sounding shy and unsure if she should approach me. She is different from Drago and Luca. Since D brought me home with him, I’ve kept myself tucked away in the bedroom over the weekend. I was still able to pick up on just how different she is from her brothers.
“Sorry about that, Caprice.”
I am genuinely regretful that I’ve ignored his family. They actually seem nice. Nothing like I first imagined when Tom assigned Lance and me to investigate D.
“You can call me CC,” she offers in a sweet voice.
“Why do your brothers call you that?”
“Oh.” She giggles, her face visibly brightening at the mention of Drago and Luca. “It’s my initials. CC stands for Caprice Claire.”
“Really?” It’s my turn to smile, realizing we have something in common.
Her head cocks to the side, confused, when a bubble of laughter pops out of my mouth, releasing a little of the tension housed in my body.
“What’s so funny?”
